You can take McLaren’s hot new hybrid-powered Artura Spider with 690 horsepower to the track or your favorite canyon road for some fun
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00Hey everybody, I'm Mike Floyd with Motor Trend, and we're here on the beautiful French Riviera
00:13to sample the new McLaren Artura Spyder, McLaren's latest supercar, and it's a hybrid supercar.
00:23The new Artura Spyder joins the coupe for 2025, and it arrives as McLaren has made several
00:29updates to the Artura lineup.
00:32So what's it got?
00:33690 total system horsepower, a bump of 19 horsepower thanks to software changes applied
00:39to the engine's twin-turbo setup.
00:42It's got a revised eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and of course, better
00:48suspension tuning, part of its prodigious powers derived from the Artura's axial flux
00:53motor that supplies extra juice.
00:55The Artura Spyder is also a plug-in hybrid, and when its battery is fully charged, it
00:59can travel up to 11 miles on electricity alone.
01:03We used the electric mode during our short, steady drive through the fanged streets of
01:07Monaco, and it slinked along with little more than a faint electric whine.
01:12But we spent most of our time with the Artura Spyder's top-down and its powertrain and handling
01:17modes in the track setting, attacking tight canyon routes and blasting along rivets of
01:22French Country Road.
01:24The Artura's eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox has been adjusted by McLaren to make it shift
01:2925% faster, and its damping system is now some 90% more responsive than before.
01:35True to form, the Artura Spyder responded with lightning quickness to our inputs, and
01:39its deftness of movement, razor-sharp steering, and ferocious braking are as you'd expect
01:45from a supercar like this.
01:47The star of the Artura Spyder's show is its retractable, one-piece hardtop that can drop
01:52in just 11 seconds at speeds of up to 31 miles an hour thanks to no less than eight motors.
01:58We tried it while trundling along through one of the quaint French villes on our drive,
02:03and the top, which is constructed primarily of carbon fiber and aluminum, worked flawlessly.
02:08Of course, the Spyder's new top necessitated some new air inlets to keep everything cool
02:15under the hood.
02:16See this little bump here?
02:18It's a gurney flap, and it was developed in conjunction with the F1 team.
02:22Given it's a McLaren, the Artura Spyder is also based on a carbon fiber tub design, making
02:27it the lightest convertible in its class.
02:31And while it breaks no new ground from a styling standpoint, that's not necessarily a bad thing,
02:36as it looks aggressive and purposeful.
02:38You know it's a McLaren, and you know it's a supercar.
02:41Step inside the Artura Spyder, and it has all the luxury trimmings you'd expect from
02:45a car that starts at just under $274,000, most notably the handcrafted leather seats
02:51that we found to be both comfortable and supportive during our more aggressive parts of our drive,
02:56and the addition of McLaren's updated infotainment system.
03:00The Artura Spyder's cabin is fantastic, and it has these two binnacles that easily adjust
03:07handling and powertrain.
03:08It all helps make the Artura Spyder as livable and daily drivable as any supercar in its
03:13class.
03:15If that's not a banger to you, then get on the horn of a McLaren and get your order in
03:18as deliveries are expected to begin later in 2024.